What started as a casual fling slowly turned into something deeper, until they both realized they'd fallen despite trying not to. ****** Ano ang pag-ibig? At paano mo malalaman kung totoo na? Iyon ang tanong na matagal nang bumabagabag kay Maria Felianna Escudero. Bata pa lang siya, confused na siya dahil magkaiba ang sagot ng kanyang ina at ama. Pero mas pinaniwalaan niya ang sagot ng kanyang ina. Since then, Felianna promised to herself na hindi siya magpapakatanga sa love. She knows her worth. Kaya kahit maraming lalaking dumaan, hindi siya basta-basta nagpapadala sa mga ito. Until one day, someone caught her attention - Ryle Yieler Sollano. A man who seems unreachable, admired by many girls, and far from the kind of person she thought she'd ever pursue. On a sudden impulse, Felianna took the chance and boldly asked him to be her fling. To her surprise... he said yes. But it's just a fling - no labels, no expectations, and definitely no commitment Pero love doesn't always follow the rules, right? Because one day, she woke up realizing she's falling for him.

Haven Audrea Polina grew up asking questions the world never answered kindly. Bakit may mayaman at may mahirap? Bakit may magaling at may pangkaraniwan lang? Bakit may mga taong isinilang na parang sigurado na sa sarili--habang ang iba, pilit hinuhubog ang pagkatao para lang matawag na may silbi? She lives between four corners--of a room, of a classroom, of expectations she learned to carry too early. A girl who can do many things, yet holds nothing she can truly call her own. She exists quietly, believing that being ordinary is safer than hoping for more. Haven never wished upon stars. Not because she didn't believe in them--but because she feared the cost. She learned early that the universe has a way of taking something back. And with a family already held together by sacrifice and love, she chose gratitude over longing. Settling felt like survival. Until Gabriel Elias Martinez came into her orbit. With eyes that carried warmth instead of distance, he showed her a world beyond what she had learned to afford. Beyond fear. Beyond quiet self-denial. Through him, Haven saw color where she once only allowed herself comfort. And for the first time, she looked up-not to ask for more, but to wonder if she was allowed to keep what made her feel alive. Yet stars have their own sky. A light pulled too close can burn. A star forced out of its place can lose its glow. And love-when tangled with fear, class, timing, and self-worth--can become something fragile. So Haven does what she has always done. She steps back. She looks up. And instead of wishing, she prays--that the star she learned to love remains alight, even if her place is only to look up from afar.

Amid hidden pain and unexpected challenges, two hearts cling to love, navigating a fate they never chose. Essence Series: First Installment. start: 07/21/2025 finish: 02/07/2026

Wounds heal, but scars remain. So even with the possibility that one can accept and move forward, it's impossible to forget. Because there will always be an irremovable mark that will remind you of every bit of pain. Growing up without a mother was Zarih's first heartache. It scarred her more than anything else. She sees how her dad grieves for her mom all the time-even after years-and it breaks her. When Zarih learned about the possibility that she might have inherited her mother's heart disease, she knew she couldn't afford to love because she wouldn't want anyone to suffer at her death. She wouldn't want to love someone just to wound him at the end. It was easy not to fall in love, only if Ace Timotheo Salvador, her summer enemy, didn't dare touch her scars... as if they were the most beautiful parts of her existence. Zarih feels like losing it... She wants to love and be loved. Maybe he can heal her scars. Maybe their story is different from her dad's. Maybe they can have a happy ending. Or maybe... She should've not risked it at all. Maybe she could've not scarred her heart more. Finished: July 21, 2022

✔ | Sun Rays Series #3 A life you never chose, yet one you're forced to survive. Rhyolite of HUMSS, the class president, the eldest, the one who learned early how to carry a home that was never meant to rest on her shoulders. She raises her siblings without question, even when she herself is running on empty. Hindi niya hinahanap ang presensya ng ina na matagal nang kulang, mas abala siyang punan ang kakulangan ng perang kailangan para mabuhay. Then there's AJ, the HUMSS' class clown. The boy everyone gravitates toward. Athletic, loud, and irritating... at least, to Rhyolite. Or maybe that's just how she chooses to see him. In a world that keeps shifting beneath their feet, they learn to sway just to stay standing... parang buhangin na hindi mo mahawakan nang buo, pero kailangan mong kapitan para hindi ka tuluyang lumubog. But how long can you keep choosing to stay afloat, when the very hands that were supposed to catch you are the ones letting you fall? Because the hardest truth to face is even when you gave everything you had, it isn't still enough. And for two of them who's barely surviving in a life without privilege, the question remains... hanggang saan aabot ang "kaya pa"? Date started: 7/22/24 Date ended: 9/10/25 Disclaimer: story is written in taglish.